walls fall down
by autumnbreeze16
Summary: Collection of the characters throughout House of Hades. / 5/50 - Hazel's just afraid he'll get his head lost in the clouds, that's all.
1. Chapter 1

**walls fall down**  
_part one_; nico di angelo

**author's note**: i finished house of hades last night, and holy crap it's such a life ruiner but it made me love the characters like seventeen times more than i use to. i wanted to write something Nico di Angelo because this kid just broke my heart and i just want to hug him but i know i can't. such a life ruiner.

**warning**: _**spoilers**_. don't hate on me if you read this and haven't read the book yet and plan to.

**disclaimer**: not mine.

* * *

He vows to Jason that he'll never ever return to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter. He isn't sure where that burning resentment came from, but it's painful and boiling in the pit of his stomach because no one understands. He never belonged because of the Hades blood flowing through the veins underneath his skin but if people really knew about him—the dim wants and desires that even he can't control sometimes—then he'll never be accepted.

Maybe it's that 1930s lifestyle getting into his brain, but it doesn't matter. He wouldn't have been accepted then, and he most certainly won't be accepted now. Especially since the other seven demigods are just so _fucking_ normal. Why did he have to be the boy who had a crush on Percy Jackson even when Percy was clearly out of his league? He should have known better. But he didn't.

That didn't stop him from admiring Percy the way he did, and being overly concerned about Percy's safety during their time in the Labyrinth.

That didn't stop him from leading Percy to the River Styx, and feeling the immediate need to free Percy when Hades betrayed him.

And that most certainly didn't stop Nico di Angelo from forcing himself to pretend not knowing about Percy at Roman Camp.

(_Pleased to meet you. I'm Nico di Angelo_)

Sometimes, the Fates are so cruel.

* * *

He volunteers to help Reyna with the Athena Parthenos, because his reasons are so selfish he needs to pretend he's trying to be heroic.

Truthfully, just seeing Percy every single day aboard a ship with no escape would probably cut a wound deep in his heart. Nico saw everyone's faces when he volunteered. They all were concerned and maybe just a little bit of glint of admiration. But Jason knows. Jason should know, even though he doesn't say anything. He promised, and Jason Grace should be good with promises because he'll be the hero of this story. Heroes keep their promises.

* * *

At sunset that night, Nico heads downstairs to prepare the statue for shadow-traveling. The various ropes are laying around the ground as Nico absently strings together rope over the Athena Parthenos.

He hears footsteps, and hopes more than anything that it's Hazel. Or maybe Jason.

It's Percy, with his sea-green eyes and tired expression. Nico knows that look. He saw it pretty much everyday in the mirror for weeks after his return from Tartarus. He's glad Percy's alive and all, but he doesn't want Percy here. With him. Alone. It feels like salt rubbing in a wound that takes years to heal. Maybe not even years. Perhaps even longer than that, if that was possible.

"Thank you," Percy says.

Nico can't look at him. "For what?"

"You kept your promise."

Nico hesitates with the ropes for only a millisecond, but then he goes right back to adjusting straps. If Percy notices, he doesn't comment. After a second, Nico awkwardly clears his throat. "You saved my life. It was the least I could do."

His voice feels tight as it's being released into the world. His shoulders feel tense and his back feels rigid like his spine was a metal pole. Glad for a distraction, Nico keeps his eyes on the statue and the ropes while wondering if Percy would eventually get the picture that Nico just wants to be alone.

"You visited Bob too…" Percy observed, his voice coming from a distance much shorter than it was before. The tone vibrates off Nico, and he tries not to shiver and shove from the close contact. It was almost just as bad as when Jason grabbed him and shot the pair of them into the sky. Nico listens intently as Percy talks on about the story of Bob and how Bob the Titan pretty much saved their lives.

Nico grumbles something that sounds faraway, but Percy scoffs as if he had just been offended. "Dude, I'm trying to say thank you."

_Stop it._ Nico tries for a laugh, but it sounds humorless and just a little bit pained. "I'm trying to say you don't need to do that." He feels Percy plant his hand on Nico's shoulder, and it takes a lot not to shrug away. "Can you give me some space? I'm trying to finish this."

He doesn't see the burning look in Percy's eyes.

Annabeth soon joins the pair of them. Nico's relieved that Annabeth can provide as a distraction for Percy, but he also feels resentment because Nico remembers that she's the reason for his jealousy and confusion.

"Good luck," she tells him, but he can't meet her gaze.

"You too."

Reyna and Coach Hedge joins them, and Nico's time with Percy is over. Probably ever—but Nico can't think like that. He was assisting a Roman return a Greek statue over in an attempt for peace. He needed to think positively.

"Grab the ropes," He instructs the pair of them as he adjusts his hold on the ropes. "Here we go."

He needs to force himself not to look back.

* * *

**review?**

{any character you want me to write about next?}


	2. Chapter 2

**walls fall down**  
_part two_; leo valdez & calypso

**a/n**: nope, couldn't avoid this moment when leo & calypso become _canon_.

(leo valdez requested by _Taffeh A. Llama_ 'cause i want to try every person before repeating characters)

**warning**: spoilers.

**disclaimer**: not mine.

* * *

Leo Valdez always has a habit of mentally matching himself with girls that were completely out of his league. He isn't quite sure why he does it, but when he gets rejected he needs to remind himself that all this—getting rejected and possibly getting smacked in the face with a fist or something—was completely expected. But still, he keeps chasing girls who he knows he'll never have.

That thought comes back when he crash lands on a dining table in the middle of nowhere. Clear blue water surrounds everything and he wants to run away again, because water and fire don't mix well together.

Instead some girl stomps up to the little hole he created on the beach, and starts yelling at him. _Ogygia_ kind of rings the bell of a story that Percy Jackson once told the seven demigods, followed by the name that sounds a lot of Caribbean music.

* * *

He doesn't like this Calypso all that much. No, not really. With her perfect hair and perfect scowl, she was perfectly imperfect for him. And this time, he doesn't get his hopes up.

Instead, he spends a lot of his time sitting on the beach, drawing in the white sand and thinking about a million different ways for him to escape the island. No magical raft ever floats its way to shore, and Leo's pretty sure it's not stuck in traffic anymore.

He doesn't dream—which is pretty unsettling in itself—and loses track of time. It's drives him crazy, but there's nothing he can do about it. If it means going back to his friends, he would have swam all the way back to the _Argo II_. He tells Calypso this, but she just eyes him like he's an idiot and goes back to killing her dirt with her gardening tools.

It's probably one of her more peaceful ways of dismissing him—don't even get him started on that whole throwing pots situation.

On the night of the third—or fourth, _argh_ why couldn't Leo seem to remember?—she sits with him during dinner and practically glares at him the whole time while taking small sips of what looks like beef stew. Leo drinks apple cider. "So, why did you want eat dinner with me?" he inquires and can't help but grin. "To consider joining Team Leo?"

Calypso wrinkles her nose a little. "Team Leo?"

"Yeah. That means you're in love with me and will gush over everything that I do."

Calypso just shakes her head. "What kind of person would do that for you?" But she's smiling—just a tiny bit, probably hoping that he wouldn't notice—so he tries not to take her too seriously.

"Well, back in the real world, there were a whole bunch of girls who were Team Leo."

"I don't believe that."

Leo bites the inside of his mouth. "Of course not."

"What?"

"Nothing!" He spoons himself some beef stew and grins at her.

* * *

The exact time when their relationship starts to blend into something less hateful and more sweet is a blur to Leo. He already lost track of how many days he's been on the island, but for a moment he honestly don't care all that much.

Calypso starts hanging out with him more, and he's smiling a lot more as well. His heart does a weird _thump_ in his chest that he does his best to ignore. If Calypso can hear the thumping of his heart, she does a pretty dang good job of hiding her amusement. Or whether or not she feels the same way. That would have been pretty good to know.

But, right now, all Leo knows is that when he's spending some of his excess time on the beach with her, he looks over at her and sees her shining brown eyes and—BAM.

He's gone. Falling, actually.

* * *

Everything changes when that magical raft—the thing he use to want so desperately but now just wants to chuck it back into ocean traffic—floats up onto the shore of Ogygia. Before that, everything had been beautiful. He had been in the midst of planning to begin building his ship with the assistance of Calypso when that stupid little piece of floating wood came into his life.

Calypso doesn't look at him when she's loading his stuff onto the boat. He wants to say how he doesn't really _want_ to leave her, but he knows that he needs to. Without him, how could the rest of his friends continue their journey? Everyone needed a Repair boy, and that's exactly what Leo was.

Leo vaguely remembers how furious he had been at Percy Jackson for breaking this girl's heart, and that horror bubbles up in his stomach when he realizes just how big a _hypocrite_ he was becoming. How could he blame Percy for leaving this girl when Leo was about to do the exact same thing?

He can't even think of where to begin the apologizes that build up on his shoulder.

But Calypso kisses him full on the mouth, and Leo was never really all that good with words anyways.

* * *

"_An oath to keep with a final breath_."

Leo Valdez doesn't like to make promises he can't keep, because he just knows they'll end in a failure of fire and guilt. But why did Leo insist on bringing Calypso out into the world? Was it because he saw just a little bit of himself in her; in which they were both trapped and just a little bit scared for themselves? Because he was [_kindasortamaybereally_] in love with her? He has no idea.

But all he knows is that he's sailing away from the first girl whose heart _he_ broke—it use to always be the other way around—and he begins to realize just how good Leo Valdez is at breaking things.

(His mother's machine shop, Festus the dragon, the already weak alliance between the Greek and Roman demigods, and now Calypso's heart)

* * *

{gods, it started off so happy and then got mushed into something a little bit more dark}

**request & review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**walls fall down**  
_part three_; annabeth chase

**author's note**: as an apology gift, i have pre-written three chapters for this story. the next chapter will (probablymostlikely) be uploaded tomorrow.

**disclaimer**: not mine.

* * *

The first few weeks are the absolute worse. Of course, the months following that are also pretty bad, but the first few weeks are the worse. The nightmares haunt her so much and create wounds so deep it'll take lifetimes to heal. There's a lot of different emotions flowing through her blood: guilt, sadness, fear… and Annabeth's body hurts as if her head isn't sure which emotion cuts the worse wound.

Annabeth hates nights the most, because the darkness flows in the sky and grows all around her. When her eyes are closed, she sees Tartarus and feels the fire burning down her throat and touches the black glass that cuts into her palm. Even when her eyes are opened, she sees the images that are burned into her brain no matter how hard she tries to distract herself.

* * *

She isn't okay, even with Percy by her side the entire time. It's hard for him to whisper comforting things to her when he's suffering with the same problem, and when his nightmares are so bad he needs to sleep with the lights on. And even then, he doesn't sleep. It's easy to tell, with the dark circles under his eyes and with the large excess amount of stress he puts on himself.

It doesn't help that whenever she looks at him she remembers Percy choking Akhlys with the poison and the straggled screams coming from the goddess of misery.

* * *

Annabeth can't seem to get rid of the blood that cover her body, no matter how hard she rubs at herself from a bar of soap. She'll rub until the skin is raw and wrinkled, but she can't get the images of cuts and bruises out of her mind. Sometimes she'll scream and continue to frantically rub at her skin. Sometimes she'll fall to her knees and breath hard with pictures overwhelming her damaged mind.

Annabeth isn't even the complaining type, but none of this is any fair. Getting thrown in Tartarus wasn't fair, coming out with scars that she can't seem to get rid of wasn't fair. And seeing her boyfriend trying to block out images from the one place he can't escape from most _certainly_ wasn't fair.

* * *

At night, Annabeth feels the most guilt. Because she usually always finds herself resting just over the ledge of the _Argo II_ overlooking the mountains, and she would always find herself looking up at the stars. The stars, which were a constant reminder of the friend who sacrificed himself to ensure Percy and Annabeth's safety. Now Percy and Annabeth were safe, but Bob was still down there, probably having died a million different types of deaths just for them. She won't ever able to repay Bob.

(And there's a tiny part of her, the tiny selfish part of her that she refuses to reveal to anyone—not even Percy—that was _glad_ that it had been Bob over her. Or Percy. It's really hard for her to admit that she can sort of be a bit of a bitch sometimes)

* * *

It may be a little ironic, but sometimes being with Percy frightens her the most. Seeing him reminds her of everything she's learned and everything she's lost and the angry look in his eyes when he loses control of his powers.

But it's the absolute worse at night, where they're laying next to each other because neither of them can sleep by themselves. Whenever Percy attempts to sleep, it always ends badly. Sometimes, Percy would sit straight up in bed with a glassy faraway look in his eyes and a lost expression that would make Annabeth question whether Hera stole his memories again. Sometimes, Percy would push himself out of bed, run out of the room, and Annabeth would find him leaning heavily against the ledge with sweat beading down his forehead. But the one that shakes Annabeth the most is the one where Percy just screams. He doesn't wake up in cold sweat or hugs her tightly. He just screams and scream and _screams_ and he won't get up no matter how hard Annabeth shakes him or how loud Annabeth cries out his name.

His eyes are so tired and weak and scared that Annabeth doesn't feel safe around him. No, not really. How can she find protection in someone who looks and feels and suffers just like her?

* * *

"How did you survive it?" Annabeth asks Nico di Angelo.

He just shakes his head. "Nobody really survives Tartartus."

It takes her a couple days to truly understand what Nico means. Literally, it's false, of course people survive Tartarus. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico are all the flesh and prove they need. But figuratively, Nico's statement is true. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico are here, but there's not here all the same. They may look the same and act the same but their minds are just so hazy with images of dreams and realities that'll take eternity to sort through.

* * *

When Annabeth catches herself in the mirror, she doesn't recognize herself. The dark circles and the red eyes and the pale complexion. She's thin from drinking fire for weeks, and her gray eyes no longer look full of thoughts and plans that need to be written out. They're full of memories that she wants so badly to get rid of.

She would go through her entire journey with Percy—face down every monster she's ever faced in her lifetime and redo years worth of quests and be worthless once again with Luke and Thalia—for one night when she can just close her eyes and not see fire and giants and Titans clashing behind her closed lids.

* * *

{first annabeth chase piece. i guess this is more of an aftermath character observation rather than the character throughout the book, but we already knows what happens with annabeth in tartarus.}

**review? **


	4. Chapter 4

**walls fall down**  
part four; jason grace

**author's note**: I love Jason grace, but I thought writing something like this would be interesting. woah, I get to explore the more negative aspect of jason. this should be fun.

**disclaimer**: not mine.

* * *

When he sees Percy and Annabeth covered in smog and blood and sweat, all he feels is numbness. It's not fair to feel like that, it's not fair at all. He doesn't understand numbness or real pain, and he especially doesn't understand it now that his two best friends have just ventured through Greek Hell armed with nothing more than each other and the determination and hope to get through the journey together.

Jason's spent his whole life being strong, being trained by Lupa to never cry and never feel pain because crying and feeling pain isn't very Roman. Being told constantly that he was going to be the hero of the novel, the one everyone would be talking about, the one who saved the day.

But Jason just stares out at the mess before him, Percy and Annabeth weak and tired and not the same, Hazel facing down Pasiphae, and can only come through to one thought: if he was the hero, why was everyone else doing the work he claimed he would do?

Then the reality hits him. He's not a hero. No, not really. He's just Jason Grace, son of Jupiter who chose the Greeks over the Romans and abandoned the people who shaped him into the people he became (_gwen dakota bobby __**reyna**_). He's just some messed up demigod who'll be that guy in the future—the guy who tried too hard to be like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase but failed. He couldn't even save them from falling into Tartarus. He couldn't stop the Romans from attacking the Greeks. He can't do anything, he isn't smart enough or talented enough or _devoted_ enough.

He isn't much of anything really.

* * *

Sometimes he wonders how the others could possibly put up with him. All Jason ever does is get knocked out during battles, and even when he doesn't he can't even be remotely helpful and anything much.

"Do you think it would have been easier for me to just fall into Tartarus?" He'll ask Leo. "I mean, Percy and Annabeth were like our leaders. We were all pretty much lost puppies without them."

But Leo will give him a hard look, as if trying to detect the lines of sarcasm in Jason's face and growing trouble when he can't find any. "You're our leader too, Jason."

Leo doesn't elaborate on what kind of leader Jason is [good or bad], and Jason can't find it in him to ask.

* * *

He sees the sadness and the fear eating up in Percy and Annabeth after Tartarus, and can't help the anger he feels for being so fucking _useless._ If he had been smarter and just a tad bit quicker, he could have been there to rescue Percy and Annabeth. He could have heard Nico and Hazel screaming for help. He could have done _something_ [that a hero would have done] but in the end it doesn't really matter. What happened was done. Jason Grace didn't come to the aid of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, and they spent weeks in Tartarus because of it.

"I'm really sorry," He tells Annabeth late in the night, when she can't sleep again. Her eyes are red with exhaustion and it's the first time he's ever seen the daughter of Athena without an answer to truly escaping Tartarus.

Annabeth shakes her head. "It's not your fault. It's Gaea's, remember?" She attempts a smile, but it's too tight to be real.

"But it _is_ my fault," Jason insists. "I can fly. I could have flied down to save you guys."

There's a sudden look in Annabeth's eyes, as if he's unlocking an idea in her mind that she's never thought of before. She's silent for a second too long. "You couldn't have known that we were going to fall. You were helping Leo."

It's hard to tell if she's trying to reassure Jason or just herself. And Jason can't tell which one is worse.

* * *

Heroes are supposed to keep their promises. Heroes are people like Percy who fought Ares when he was twelve and argues with other gods because they're wrong and stupid.

Heroes are people like Annabeth who take on a sole quest to search for the Athena Parthenos, or like Frank who grew as a leader. He replaced Jason, because Jason let him and gave him the permission and the title to become a leader.

Even Nico di Angelo, who wasn't even supposed to be part of this prophecy, kept his promise. He lead them all to the Doors of Death, because he promised Percy he would. Nico may be a lot of things now, but Jason knows that Nico wouldn't back out of something that important.

And what exactly did Jason do? He didn't build a giant ship and a bronze dragon. He didn't learn to control the Mist. He didn't charmspeak Festus to life. He can just fly, and even that's not pretty impressive since no good has ever come out through that ability.

He may be a son of Jupiter, but he's nothing like his dad. Not even close.

* * *

When Reyna comes to the _Argo II_, he's surprised because he doesn't understand. He knows Reyna didn't come for him [not anymore] but it's unsettling to see her here. Because it reminds him of Roman Camp and the fact that he chose the Greeks over them. It was a completely voluntary choice, he knows, but it doesn't take away the little cuts of guilt that he feels.

It's decided almost immediately that Reyna needs to return the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half-Blood, and when Nico volunteers to shadow-travel them the entire way there all Jason can feel is awe. Nico has no obligation to want to do anything from anyone, especially after the whole incident with Cupid and the fear Nico feels for people finding out what he really feels about Percy, but he's still volunteering for this quest.

Without meaning to, he pulls Nico aside. "I'm glad you're doing this."

Nico narrows his eyes. "I need to get out of here anyways."

Jason tries to pretend he doesn't notice the way Nico's eyes linger on Percy before the former disappears into the shadows.

* * *

When Percy and Annabeth return from Tartarus, Jason knows that it doesn't matter whether he rescued them in the beginning or not. All that matters is that they're back, and he should feel happy about that. But he can't bring himself to summon those feelings, because it still doesn't feel right.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Jason?" Piper asks.

Jason buries his face in his hands. "Because it's true. I'm not the hero. Not even close."

"So?" Piper counters, leaning to rest her hands on Jason's knee. He tries to keep his gaze on her and not let the distraction get to him. "You're not the hero of this novel. So what? You were the hero who rescued Hera. That should count for something. Also, you're part of the prophecy of seven! That's important too."

Jason just sighs and shuts his eyes so tightly he'll probably get a headache later. "It's not the same."

"What's bothering you?" She asks softly.

"I didn't save Percy and Annabeth," He protests loudly. "I could have, but I didn't."

There's a little bit of what Jason takes as annoyance in Piper's eyes and that hurts a little too. "You couldn't have known that they were going to fall."

"Does that matter? It didn't matter if they were going to fall or not. Rescuing them should have been my first priority. But it wasn't, and now they're suffering so much because of me."

"They'll get over it." Piper suddenly sounds confident and so sure of herself that Jason finds himself believing her. He doesn't care if she's using charmspeak on him right now, he just needs to start feeling better or maybe he'll drop himself in Tartarus just because he wants to. "They're Percy and Annabeth. They have each other. They'll help one another. They always do."

Jason looks into Piper's multicolored eyes and wonders what heroic deed he must have done to win over someone who is much too good for him.

* * *

{mostly a jason piece with a side of jason/nico bromance and jason/piper. it's kind of non-linear because i have unorganized thoughts right now. hopefully you guys enjoy it. next chapter is frank and hazel.}

**review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**walls fall down**  
_part five_; frank zhang & hazel levesque

**author's note**: Haven't really written anything with Frank and Hazel yet, so I thought this would be pretty fun to do.

**disclaimer**: not mine.

* * *

Physically, he looks amazing. He reminds her of those strong and powerful Roman warriors, the one who are recorded in novels and books to be remembered for generations and generations ahead. The bulky muscles make him look so much older and much more mature, and his vibe is just so… _confident_. Hazel wasn't sure if she ever told Frank she liked confident guys, but it wasn't really supposed to matter. They had a quest to focus on, and they had to stop giants from overtaking the world.

It's not her fault Frank was much too distracting for his own good. Seriously.

But, quite honestly, she didn't care all that much about Frank's physical change. Of course, it was great and all but if Hazel was completely honest with herself she would have admitted a long time ago that she was much more afraid of his mental state of mind.

Would this new change bring out the over-confident, arrogant Frank, the type of child that his father wanted him to become? Would he start underestimating his opponents? Usually, Hazel has general ideas about what her current situation is and what she could do to go about it. But with Frank, she really has no answers and no idea how to deal with a boyfriend who's received the blessing of Mars one too many times.

Besides, it's not like she can control to Mist to change that fear.

* * *

She doesn't talk to Frank about the problems she's facing in her head, and if he notices her discomfort he doesn't comment about it. They have a new set of problems to worry about, and what kind of person would she be to add more problems to Frank's state of mind? He would probably be able to handle that type of issue but could Hazel deal with it? She can barely hold his gaze nowadays without picturing an arrogant version of Frank Zhang who talks too much about the gifts from his father and his achievements rather than other people's talents.

It's almost an amusing sight—to picture Frank brushing off every problem and every giant with a flick of his hair and a confident, self-centered voice talking about how he could take down that problem by himself just because he's gotten the blessing of Mars not once, but _twice_—and Hazel probably would have laughed herself silly if it wasn't a real, constant fear that lodges itself into her head.

She's just afraid that one day he'll be too arrogant—and possibly get himself killed. Hazel can't imagine much of a life without Frank. Can't really imagine holding hands with another boy, can't really imagine kissing another boy either. But if he turned into the boy she feared the most would she get to do any of that stuff with him anyways?

Hazel isn't really that sure anymore.

* * *

Frank might be a lot of things, but he isn't the type of person who loses themselves in their daydreams. Besides, Frank should know that being one second late on a roll or a sword thrust can be that one factor that can get him killed. He's smart. He should know that stuff. Hazel's seen him in battle. He's amazing, even before the physical transformation with Mars and all those blessing and stuff, so why is she so worried about him daydreaming during a battle? Hazel doesn't like that. She doesn't like worrying, since it makes her seem overprotective.

She's just afraid that he'll grow so confident his head will get lost in the clouds. She's just concerned for him, that's all.

* * *

It's been two weeks since Frank's physical transformation, and Hazel would have been lying if she said she didn't expect Frank to stay the same modest, down-to-earth, sweet guy she's had a crush on since forever. But that's what's going on. Frank still smiles the same, talks the same way. It's almost as if he hasn't checked himself in the mirror in the last two weeks and hasn't seen just how much of a football player he looks like.

"Frank…" Hazel starts slowly, a little unsure how to word her sentence without insulting Frank. He doesn't get easily insulted, but like she said she isn't always sure with her boyfriend. "Have you checked yourself in the mirror lately?"

Frank furrows his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

Hazel settles for a shrug instead of an inquiry as to why he isn't acting like an condescending jerk. "I wasn't sure if you've seen how… great you look right now."

Frank smiles a little, and she even catches a light flush dusting his cheek. "Thanks, I guess the blessing of Mars does that to people."

"Well, how do you feel?"

Frank shrugs. "I feel more powerful." He must have seen a look in her face, because he sits up a little straighter in his seat and suddenly has a frantic look in his eyes. "But, I mean, I'm still the same Frank I was in Roman Camp."

"You're not as clumsy as you use to be," Hazel points out, laughing when Frank gives her a classic Frank glare. It's not all that scary, though, and all it takes is one look at her to allow the grin that Hazel's come to know and love slip across his lips.

* * *

When Jason tells of the news that he passed his praetor title to Frank, there's a surge and a swelling of pride that Hazel feels inside of her. Because if there's anyone who deserves it more than anybody it's Frank. She's seen his physical transformation firsthand, and she's also seen the way he deals with his powers and even though it changes how he looks it doesn't change how he acts.

And she isn't sure how she can love him any other way.

* * *

{what, did I actually write a sweet fluffy Hazel & Frank story? Woah, I must be feeling unusually happy today… Sorry if it seems a little rushed, it's a school day but I wanted to upload something for you guys!}

**request & review? **


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